Emerald Changes
by voldemortharryslash
Summary: Sequel to Vacant Emeralds. Harry thought he could die, he thought it was over, that he would finally have the peace he always wanted but he should have known better. There is no rest when work still remains and there is always work for ones of power. Things aren't always as they appear. AU!Harry, Dark!Harry, TimeTravelFic, will be Slash, pairings tbd
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I DO NOT and never will own the rights to the Harry Potter world or the characters or concepts within the universe of such.

 **A/N: I have not written in 10 years and I am curious to see if I still have the gift so this is a possible continuation/sequel to Vacant Emeralds. I'm not entirely sure where this will be going, only that it is AU. Please review and tell me if I should even bother. Thank you in advance.**

The night was still, moonless, and so dark that there seemed to be a loss of senses as the lightlessness seemed tangible. The stars were absent and there was an uneasiness in the air as if the total lack of senses from the complete pitch of black was harboring something sinister. The forest was home to some of the more ferocious beings known to the wizarding world, whether they knew it or not, and even those creatures that would have little to fear felt a sense of foreboding. There was a change in the wind, something not of this world was coming.

In the absolute of the dark the flash of light that came was blinding and it was gone as quick as it had appeared. The only signs that it had even happened lay in the form of the lump of robes that lay unmoving on the ground and the scorched trees that surrounded the figure.

What felt like an eternity, but was merely minutes, passed before there was any movement or signs of life. The bundle of robes made a soft groaning sound followed by a sharp cry of pain. The curious creatures watching hidden in the trees flinched at the unexpected sound. They felt a wave of unimaginable power but could not bring themselves to flee, they were entranced, some unknown force keeping them there, watching and waiting.

Emerald eyes that seemed to glow in the night slowly opened and showed themselves as what now showed to be a man lifted his head and took in his reality. He didn't know where he was, that much was obvious as confusion showed in his expressive eyes. His expression became pained as he attempted to move and noticed that his injuries were healed but still sore. _How? And where? When, even._ That was all Harry could think thru his clouded mind before he slumped back onto the ground understanding, though still hoping, that he had not died. The magic had truly been too much to let him have the peace he so desperately wanted. _Or had it? Maybe the afterlife wasn't what he thought but maybe... Just maybe._ He knew he was foolish to hope but he couldn't help it. Didn't he deserve to have something he truly wanted for once in his life. Was that really too much to ask for? Somehow he knew it was. He succumbed to the darkness of unconsciousness once more, not seeing the pairs of curious eyes watching and deciding.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I DO NOT and never will own the rights to the Harry Potter world or the characters or concepts within the universe of such.

Bright sapphire eyes snapped to the sky as she felt the breeze whisper to her and she visibly started. An average height and plump woman looked at her best friend intently. "What is it Rowena?"

The woman whom the sapphire eyes belonged to looked at her dear friend, "The air speaks of change and great power entering our world. The elementals are frightened at the suddenness of it all. They-" She paused and cocked her head slightly as if listening to a voice heard only by her. "Yes, they say there is a newcomer and he is not from this plane. And he is close."

Helga narrowed her eyes and knelt to the ground, brushing her fingers lightly over the dirt. She closed her eyes and let her magic flow into the earth sending feelers out from where they stood. Her yellow eyes opened with a snap and she stood quickly. "They speak the truth. There is something or someone near. I can not get an accurate read on where exactly. The being is somewhere concentrated with magic, I cannot distinguish which is the foreign and which is the natural wilds."

"We should contact Godric, he may know of a better way to track the disturbance. We are all stronger together and with the way the wind is shaking I cannot determine if they are scared or excited."

Helga nodded her head in agreement and conjured a scrap of parchment and a quill before scribbling a short missive. Rowena raised her arm in the air and her trusted raven familiar landed on her forearm, holding out his leg for the letter to be attached.

They watched as he flew into the distance and awaited anxiously, not sure what to think of the future that now lay before them.

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With a groan, Harry opened his eyes once more to view the all encompassing darkness around him. He didn't know how long he had been out but there didn't seem to be any change in the atmosphere around him. He blinked repeatedly, attempting to focus his eyes and was startled to find the world shift and everything become alive.

He struggled to his feet, wincing at the stiffness in his legs and looked around him. _These streams must be magic._ They were everywhere, all around him, interchanging and flowing. Attempting to get his bearings, Harry shook his head as the visual of the magic faded and disappeared.

The first thing he noticed was the absolute silence. No bugs zipping by, no chattering of the small critters of the forest or the sound of their movements thru the trees. It added to the sense that he was somewhere and nowhere all at once but the soreness his body felt was all too real and brought him to the reality that he was alive, somewhere. He didn't recognize where he was, it was not where he had fallen, that he was certain of.

Staggering forward he began to blindly make his way thru the trees, swinging his arms wildly in front of him to prevent walking face first into the looming branches and trunks. He was careful to shuffle his feet slowly in an effort to avoid the roots and small bushes and brush that seemed to cover the entire forest floor.

He couldn't quite place it but the forest seemed familiar to his senses but the surroundings were foreign to his eyes. _Where am I?_ The thought kept intruding, clouding his focus and he missed the slight dip in the earth, sending him tumbling down a small incline and coming to a sudden stop as he collided with the base of a large tree. "Way to go, Potter." he muttered to himself, sounding a great deal like Snape.

A pang in his heart brought unshed tears to his eyes as he thought of the late potions master. He hadn't had the time to mourn yet, he really hadn't time to think and process everything that had just happen, at least he think it had just happened, to him and his loved ones. _You're all alone. You'll be forever alone now._ The thought came unbidden, and he felt a tightening as his heart physically hurt in his chest.

He rubbed the back of his head as a headache began forming from the smack into the tree. _Stop thinking of it. Grieve later when you figure out what is going on. Think. Think of the facts. You know you killed Voldemort, you know the magical backlash fused with your own power and you know you attempted to end it._

He glanced down at his wrists to see if the wounds were still present and realized he still couldn't see.

"Lumos" The bright globe of light blinded him for a second as his eyes adjusted to the onslaught. There on his wrists were barely visible white scars up each. "That can't be right… They shouldn't have healed so much. But then again, who knows with magic. It has a mind of it's own." He laughed as he realized if anyone was watching they'd think him out of his mind. "I probably am. Hahaha."

Shaking his head he tried to focus on what was important once more, cursing his meddled brain for constantly getting off track.

$Where the fuck am I?$

$This place has many names but most know that it is forbidden in the sense that once entered, seldom make it out alive.$

Harry jumped to his feet at the voice, his head whipping around trying to find the source. He realized that he had slipped into parseltongue, a habit he discovered while planning attacks that happened when he was frustrated.

$Show yourself!$

Branches cracked just beyond the light and Harry concentrated on feeding more power into the simple lumos spell. The orb expanded greatly and he heard angry hissing and loud crashes as the quiet creatures that must have been out of sight scurried away from the foreign light.

$I see you have great power that may be beyond your own understanding little one.$

He turned abruptly as the voice sounded over his shoulder and came face to face with a set of fangs as long as his forearm, easily. He gulped audibly and took a slow step backwards.

$W-why… What are you$

$Ssssss In time young serpent speaker, in time. I have some questions of my own which you should answer first.. As you are the one intruding on my territory. And I haven't had a decent wizard snack in quite a while.$

 **A/N -** I am rushing this story a bit as I had a flood of ideas for it and I don't want them to escape my mind, so apologies if this comes out jumbled at times. Again, please review, let me know what you think of the direction and I am always open to constructive criticism.

Also:  
 _Thoughts  
_ _$Parseltongue$_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I DO NOT and never will own the rights to the Harry Potter world or the characters or concepts within the universe of such.

Harry backed up a few more steps, though he knew that the distance wouldn't do him any good. The creature standing before him was rippling with muscles and he could imagine how easily it would be for it to spring forward and rip him to shreds. He placed his hands slightly in front of him in an unconscious attempt to show he was unarmed.

$What is your name stranger?$ Now that he could fully see the creature with the brighter light, he noticed that it wasn't the head of the creature that was speaking at all. The head and body was that of what appeared to be a panther on steroids, but the tail had scales and there was the head of a snake attached to the end, peering over the shoulder of the rest of the body.

$H-$ He stopped. He didn't know what this creature was, he didn't know if it held any allegiance to Voldemort and realized that he shouldn't be so forthcoming with his honesty. $Salazar$ If the snake part of the creature was associated with the dark forces at all then maybe a slytherin name would help him to escape with his life.

$Ssssalazar.. Fitting for a speaker. I like it. Now what are you doing in my territory?$ The main head of the body lowered, emerald eyes so like his own coming to gaze at his chest as the serpent head came face to face with him.

$I.. I do not know. I was a part of a great battle, but after it ended I thought my life lost and I woke up here.$ _Better to leave out the attempted suicide so I don't appear weak._ Self-preservation took over. $I do not know where I am, but I know it is not the place I last saw before my eyes closed.. Are there charred trees around and a great clearing with a giant castle nearby? That is the last place I remember.$

The eyes of the panther part of the creature darted up and down his form and he got the uneasy feeling that it was sizing up how much of a snack he would be. He attempted to shove down the feelings of how nervous he was, believing that the creature would be able to sense it and take it as a sign to just throw aside the conversation and just eat him already. He let his eyes dart down to the legs of the beast and suppressed a shudder at how big they were. There was no way he would be able to outrun the creature, its legs were nothing but sinewy muscle rippling under the fur and one leg was nearly as tall as his full height. _Play nice, play nice, distract and figure out what to do. THINK!_

As if the snake, or panther or whether the whole thing thought as one, knew of the thoughts racing thru his head it turned and chuckled. Harry had never heard a snake laugh, not counting Voldemort's snake-like visage, and discovered it was not a pleasant sound.

$Calm little one, I am not going to eat you. You are too intriguing as of yet and to oblige and answer your questions, no there are no scorched trees and there is only one clearing somewhat near here. I have never been in it but I have seen it thru the treeline as I have hunted. No giant building, what I believe is what you humans call a castle, but there are giant rocks. Bigger than I have ever laid eyes on before and they scream of magic.$ The snake and panther both tilted their heads in unison, it was an eerie sight and he got the feeling that no one had lived to see this creature and it's habits and quirks. $The magic is similar to yours… Strong, yet different. Is that where you came from, speaker Salazar?$

Harry wracked his mind, a blessing as he pushed the thoughts of being swallowed whole out of his head and used his brain to be productive. $I do not know. Possibly.$

There was silence for what could have only been seconds, but what felt like hours. $I shall take you to see.$ The creature stepped forward and Harry couldn't help his immediate reaction to keep the distance between them, taking a few shuffled steps back. The sound emitted from the creature was even more disturbing than the snake's laughter. It was something between a growl and a purr. Was the panther laughing at him? $Fear not, I am of my word. You have nothing to fear at the moment.$

$Why would you take me?$ Harry couldn't stop the question from pouring from his lips. He cursed his lack of control as the panther's eyes lowered until they were across from his own.

$I've already told you, speaker. Curiosity is strong motivation. You have a power you seem to not know but we of the ancients respect. If you are worthy of it will be the final decision of if you are nothing but food.$

Harry swallowed audibly and gave a shaky nod. The panther bent its legs slightly and turned to expose its back. When he didn't move, it turned to give him a glare and huffed impatiently while the snake laughed once more. Gathering up his Gryffindor courage, he stepped forward and used a small bit of magic to levitate himself so he was resting on the beasts back.

 _I must be losing my mind. There's no way this can be real._

 _Ah but it is youngling_.

Harry jumped and spun his head around looking for the voice, a sense of déjà vu capturing him.

 _Have no fear youngling. It is I who's fur you are clutching too tightly. I could balance an infantling on my back should I so desire it. You will not fall._

"You can speak?"

 _Not in your tongue, but in other ways, yes. What you wondered is true, but not. We are of one mind, but separate. One being, but different._

"O..ok.." Harry pretended he understood, but knew he did not. The beast gave off what he had assumed was a laugh earlier again and stood to it's full height with an elegance and gracefulness that a creature of its size should not have had. It was disconcerting.

 _Hold on youngling._ And with that, it began bounding thru the forest.

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"There is a shift in the magic of the area, I am telling you! The sprites do not lie, they cannot! We MUST stop construction until we know what it is."

"She's right, even the earth has shifted in response. We cannot put the lives of children at risk, we cannot! We must know if whatever this unknown entity is, if it's dangerous or if we can even ward against it. Otherwise we must find somewhere else to teach."

Godric watched the flames of the fireplace dance before him, seeing the tiny sire imps dancing upon the logs. They reached out occasionally to lick at his robes but even as they touched the fabric, it did not burn. His thoughts were bordering on chaotic as so many unknown variables were present in their current situation and he kept shifting them around in his mind, attempting to strategize. The women behind him had fallen silent, letting him ponder before he spoke. He had to bite back his immediate replies as they were rash, which he was known for. Act first, think later was his mantra. In this situation eh couldn't afford to. They had worked too hard for this. He turned and looked at the two witches seated on the lavish furniture in his sitting room and frowned, a thoughtful look crossing his features.

"Godric?" Helga tentatively questioned.

"We can't move the location. It took us years to find the spot. The leylines will never intersect so perfectly like they do there. The magic is consecrated in the ground itself, the wards would be protected by the very nature that surrounds it. There is not a better area."

"That may be true, but what will it matter if it all gets destroyed because there is an unknown.. What if it is the very magic we are depending on to protect the school, is what is sending this to stop us?" Rowena finally put in her thoughts and it caused the other two in the room to pause and consider.

"Then.. Then the only thing to do is to find out and confront it."

Sapphire and yellow eyes snapped to look at their friend startled. The former's clouded into a thoughtfulness expression, while the yellow only conveyed worry.

"Have you lost your mind Godric? What if it kills us?!" Helga squeaked out.

"Actually it could work." Rowena's voice cut thru Helga's worry. "Think about it. Most magical beings demand respect and if you show that respect then normally you are allowed to leave with all your limbs intact. And at the least it should hear us out, unless it is something too inept to be reasoned with."

"And if it can't be reasoned with?"

"Then we shall have to fight it." Godric sounded too cheerful at the prospect, which earned him a glare from both of those present. "What? It's not like the three of us can't handle it together."

"Not the point you sod," Helga rolled her eyes and sighed in resignation. "You win. We'll try it your way and if it doesn't work then I am not above telling you I told you so."

Godric laughed, "Fair enough."

He strode to the drafting table in the corner, waving the ladies to join him so they could start their planning. As rash and in the moment he could be, he knew the benefits of having a foolproof strategic plan before potentially going into battle.

"Fool resistant, no such thing as fool proof," Rowena said matter of fact, as if she was reading his thoughts. There was laughter behind her eyes and he tightened his shields around his mind and playfully rolled his eyes.

"Let's get to it then. We have an unknown beast to meet."


End file.
